Crossings
by Aurorellin
Summary: When two new brothers enters Elena's newly normalized life, she finds herself in love with Sam and danger threatens both her and her brother, Jeremy. A vampire wishes revenge on Elena and the ones she cares about which leads to adventures and heartbreaking moments, but also a new life is created inside Elena.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Fog rolled over the Mystic Falls night and the air became colder, but still warm enough for t-shirt weather. People walked around, doing whatever they had to, and cars cruised past the Grill as Elena walked in with her book bag on her shoulder and her jean jacket over her arm. Normally it wouldn't be that many people at the Grill at this time of the day, but today it was almost packed. Elena looked around with a sigh when she saw that her regular spot by the entrance was taken, but then she discovered that one of the tables in the back of the diner beside the bar was free. Quickly, she snaked past the huge crowd that packed the whole room, said excuse me about 50 times and almost stumbled 10 times before she finally reached the table. It was one of the old booths that had been in the diner since it opened. The owner thought it was charming so he let some of them stay in the corners of the room. Elena sat down in one of the leather seats with her back to the wall so she could have her eyes on the entrance, somehow it seemed safer, but she didn't have any clue why. She let her book bag down on the table and her jacket beside her on the seat before she grabbed the book she was reading from the bag. After reading at the back of the book she rolled her eyes.

"Should have just rented the movie." Elena mumbled to herself as she opened the book to the first page and tried focused on the text, but suddenly the crowd began to cheer and applaud as a man walked on to the stage down by the entrance. A band was placed behind the man who tried to get the crowd quiet, and that's when it Elena. "Great, karaoke night."

"Okay, okay, people! Settle down!" The man on the stage said as Elena looked in her bag after her headphones and phone that was probably buried under all the books. "The rules are simple if you want to preform, you have to get in line after…" Everything else disappeared as Elena plugged the headphones in and put the music almost on max. With a sound of relief, she sat back, leaned her back against the wall beside her and put her legs on the seat with her book balanced on her knees. Everything was blocked out and she could finally concentrate, trying to suppress every thought she had and focus on what she had to.

Elena was deep in the book when suddenly someone poked her leg and she jumped in her seat while pulling out one of her headphones. The book almost fell to the floor, but she grabbed it just before it fell of her knees. With an awkward gesture, she pushed her hair away from her face and put the book on the table as she sat up straight. Two men stood in front of her and exchanged a look before looking at her again with a quick smile.

"I'm sorry. Can I help you?" Elena asked and looked at the men with a questioning look. One was taller than the other and he also had longer hair, but he was one of the few guys who could pull it off. The other one was also pretty tall, but shorter than the other guy, still he seemed older.

"Ehm, yeah, can we sit here?" The tall one said with an apologizing look. "It's pretty packed and…"

"Yeah, sure." Elena said before he could finish. He gave her a smile as he sat down in the seat in front of her along with the other guy. She quickly grabbed her bag so she could take it away from the table, but the guy just put up a hand.

"It's not necessary." He said and Elena slowly pulled back her hand before she picked up her book again. Struggling to find the page she was on, the guy pulled out a PC from his own bag and handed the other guy a huge book. It wasn't until the tall guy cleared his throat that Elena found out she was staring.

"I'm sorry." She said and shook her head before she just opened up at a page and pretended she was reading, even though she hadn't come that far yet. The guy smiled to her before he looked down at the PC again, but the smile didn't fade which made Elena blush slightly.

"How to kill a mockingbird?" The guy asked as he glanced up from the screen and looked at her. Elena looked confused at him, but then he nodded at the book and she felt like a complete idiot.

"Oh, yeah." She said sheepishly and closed the book to look on the cover. "Last college assignment before Christmas break. I came here to try and read, but I forgot its Friday…which is karaoke night." The tall guy looked over at the other guy who suddenly shivered.

"Karaoke is for drunk people or deaf people." The other guy said and looked over his shoulder to the stage along with the tall guy. A man was standing on the stage, pretty nervous, singing some kind of love song to a woman who stood front row in the crowd. It sounded pretty bad, but the woman seemed to love it. The guys turned around again and looked at Elena who quickly looked down at the book again.

"I'm Sam." The tall guy said and Elena looked up again as he pointed to the guy beside him. "This is my brother Dean."

"I'm Elena." She said and gave them a smile as the crowd applauded again. Suddenly, Elena's eyes locked on someone in the crowd and she felt the anger rise in her along with frustration. Quickly she put her book in the bag and grabbed her jacket. "I have to go. Nice meeting you." She hurried through the crowd before the guys could say anything. After elbowing her way through the crowd, she finally arrived at the front door where she grabbed the color of one of guys that had just arrived. She pushed the door open and pulled the boy with her outside.

The fog had become thicker and a little chilly wind had arrived, making Elena's body get filled with goosebumps. Quickly, she pulled on her jacket before pulling the guy with her a little further down the street, but not long until he made her stop.

"Elena! Stop dragging me! I'm not 6 years old anymore!" Jeremy said in a very drunk voice. Elena grabbed a hold of his jaw, making him look her in the eyes. He fought against her, but he was too drunk to really to do anything.

"Really?" Elena said with anger in her voice. "Because I think you are! Are you high?" He grabbed her hand and pulled it off of him.

"No, I'm not high." Jeremy mumbled and rolled his eyes before he turned around to walk back to the Grill, but she grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Hey, ever since Bonnie died…" She started, but in a sudden quick motion, Elena was slammed against the brick wall behind her with Jeremy holding an arm across her chest, anger building up in his face, but then he realized what he had done and quickly let go. For a short minute, she lost her breath and gasped for air as she buckled over. That's when someone suddenly came running towards them.

"Hey! Calm down, man." It was Sam and Dean. Dean took a hold on Jeremy and pulled him away from her while Sam came beside her.

"You okay?" Sam asked and put his hands on her shoulder to help her up straight. Elena nodded and sucked in air before she went over to Dean who had a grip on Jeremy.

"Hey, it's okay." She said, a little out of breath, and put a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "He's my brother." Dean slowly let go after glancing at his own brother who just shrugged. Jeremy pulled Elena into his arms and hugged her close.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I'm so sorry." He mumbled into her hair and Elena nodded as she put her head on his shoulder. She strokes the back of his head before pulling back and looking at him.

"It's okay." She said and dried the tears that had fallen down his cheeks. "Everything is gonna be okay." Elena said it like a promise and she really meant it. He nodded to her before she put an arm around his waist and looked at the brothers that stood watching them. "Thank you, but I'll just take him home."

"You need a ride?" Dean asked, but Elena shook her head with a grateful smile. "You sure? It's been a lot of animal attacks here lately according to the news." Elena shook her head again.

"No, we live just a few blocks from here. We'll be fine, but thank you." She said quickly and walked past them. With a firm grip around Jeremy and one around her book bag, they started the walk home.

"Okay, be careful." Sam called after them, but Elena didn't turn, just kept walking. People were still singing inside the Grill as they walked past, but it quickly faded the further they walked away. It became colder by the minute as they were walking and even colder when they walked through the cemetery. The fog was even thicker there, but luckily Elena knew the way through like the back of her hand. Jeremy was about to fall asleep on her arm and he almost fell over a tombstone.

"Come on, we're almost home." Elena said and shook him slightly in the shoulder as they kept walking. Suddenly, her heart started to race and she looked behind her when she all of a sudden got the feeling someone was following them, but it was no one there. Jeremy became too heavy for her to hold him up when he fell to the ground, snoring loudly. "Are you kidding me?" She rolled her eyes and kneeled down beside him, shaking him harder than before. "Hey, Jeremy, wake up." He was still passed out and Elena couldn't lift him either, so she gave up and opened her bag, trying to look for her phone, but she couldn't find it. That's when she remembered that she left it at the Grill. "Seriously?" With the frustration building up in her, she threw her bag at the ground and shook her brother harder until she slapped him in the face. Still no response, but luckily he was still breathing.

Suddenly, a branch snapped further away and birds started to fly. Elena felt the panic in her grow as she stood up. She looked around for a weapon, something at all, that's when she saw a pretty thick stick further away from them. Slowly, not to make any sudden movements, she walked to the stick, but before she could reach it, something attacked her. She screamed as the thing that was over her bit into her neck, trying to get away. It stung like hell at first, but then it started to fell…kind of pleasant. Elena stopped fighting and it all became blurry, like she was drugged. Out of nowhere, a gunshot sound roared in the background and the thing fell to the ground. She tried to move, but it felt like her body was paralyzed. The night sky over her was filled with fog so the stars weren't visible and the branches over her that hung from some of the many trees around the cemetery were blurry as they moved slowly in the wind. Out of the corner of her eye, Elena could see two figures move closer to the thing that had attacked her, but before she could even see what it was, it was gone.

"You take the kid, I'll take the girl." Elena recognized that voice as the figures moved to her and her brother. A pair of hands appeared around her and she was lifted up in his arms.

"Told you to be careful." He said quietly as he started walking. Elena felt tired and exhausted and could barely move as they walked through the cemetery. "How's the kid?"

"Passed out." It was Dean who replied with what sounded like a little amusement in his voice. "How about her?" Elena closed her eyes and leaned her head against Sam's shoulder as she was carried. Sam moved away her hair from the left side of her neck with his hand that held around her back.

"Bleeding." He said and suddenly Elena tensed. Was she bleeding? Sam hushed her like a little baby and lifted her a little higher. "You'll live if you keep awake, okay? Open your eyes." Elena opened her eyes and looked right in to Sam's eyes. They were beautiful golden and they looked worried down at her. "Good. Stay with me now, and talk. Let's me now that you're still alive."

"You've got pretty eyes." Elena said before she realized what she actually said. Sam chuckled and smiled down at her. "I'm sorry, just…don't know." It was hard to talk when all she wanted to was to sleep.

"Thank you, I guess." Sam said surprised. Elena couldn't believe how much of idiot she had been today. First embarrassed herself in front of these guys who had just saved her life, forgotten her phone, argued with Jeremy and now this. "Elena, you still with me?"

"Mm, yeah, I'm…I'm still…with you." She said, the sleepiness taking more and more control of her. Things became more blurry as the time went by.

"Dean, she's loosing too much blood." Sam said and looked at her wound. They started to walk faster and after what seemed like forever, they reached their destination. Elena could see that her brother was put into the backseat of the car they had stopped by. Sam put her down beside the hood of the car. "Can you stand?" Elena nodded and leaned against the hood. Suddenly, she felt nauseous, like the ground was spinning, and she grabbed a hold of Sam's shoulder. Her neck hurt and she put her hand on it, but immediately regretted it when she looked at the blood that came from it. Dean came over to them with a cloth and pressed it the wound. Elena gritted her teeth and inhaled sharply as the cloth met the wound.

"Here, you drive. She can fall asleep at any minute now and someone needs to watch her." Dean said and threw Sam a pair of keys. He nodded and jogged to the other side of the car as Dean grabbed a hold of Elena and helped her to the backseat. He got in with her, still pressing on the wound, and with one arm around her shoulders, she leaned against him as the car started.

They were driving, but it was all very blurry to Elena. She could feel her brother passed out beside her and Dean holding around her. Her neck was hurting and she was so tired, but Dean wouldn't let her sleep. She felt nauseous and a headache was building up, like she had the worst hangover ever.

"We can't take her to the hospital." Dean said and pressed harder on the wound which made Elena wince out of pain. She tried to sit up, but he pulled her back down. "Shh, just relax, but keep awake."

"Dean, she's going to die if she doesn't get help!" Sam protested from the front seat and glanced back at them in the mirror. Elena suddenly felt extremely nauseous and flew up which she regretted, but she had to.

"Quick, hand me a bag or something. She's gonna throw up all over…" He didn't get to finish the sentence before Elena buckled forth and threw up all her lunch on the floor. "…the car." Dean finished and pinched the bridge of his nose before he grabbed a hold of her hair and pulled it away from her face. When she was done, he pulled her carefully back into his arms. "It's okay." Sam threw a bag back to him which Dean handed to Elena. "We'll call Cas. He can fix her up." Elena had no idea who Cas was, but Sam nodded.

"Elena, where do you live?" He asked just as Elena threw up again into the bag. Dean looked away, but kept the cloth on to her wound until she sat up again and told them her address.

"Yeah, we definitely need Cas." Dean said and reached in to his pocket. "I'll call him and ask him to meet us at their house." Sam nodded as Dean dialed Cas' number on his phone. Elena felt the pain grow stronger as the drug-like feeling wore off. "Hey, Cas. Yeah, we need your help. We're in Mystic Falls…" Elena didn't follow the conversation, but rather shook slightly at her brother's arm. He mumbled something and turned around from her which brought her great relief. "Okay, he'll meet us there."

"We're almost there." Elena mumbled as they pulled in to her street. Dean nodded and looked out the window until they pulled up next to her house. It was a kind of big white house with a huge garden on the back of it. She and Jeremy had lived there their entire life with their parents, who sadly died, so now it was just them. Sam stopped the car and got out as Dean opened the door beside himself. He got out before he reached inside for her. With weak legs, Elena managed to walk out of the car and in to Sam's arms. Dean handed her the bloodstained cloth before he slammed the door closed.

"Dude, her brother." Sam said and gestured towards sleeping Jeremy in the backseat. Dean shrugged and made a dismissive wave towards him.

"We'll get him later." Dean said, but Sam gave a slight shook with his head before he carefully passed Elena back to him. He walked around to the other side of the car and got Jeremy out. Dean rolled his eyes as they walked towards the entrance of the house when suddenly someone appeared on the front porch. Elena jumped when the person appeared.

"Hey, it's okay. It's just Cas." Dean said and half carried her up the steps of the porch. Sam followed with her brother and stopped beside Dean.

"Dean." The man, Cas, said and looked between the brothers. "What happened?" He looked suspicious at Dean before he looked at Sam.

"She was attacked by a vampire." Dean said and shifted his grip around Elena before he nodded towards Jeremy. "He's just drunk, but she's loosing too much blood and we can't take her to the hospital. People have already become suspicious about the attacks."

"I understand." Cas said and took a step closer to Elena who was near passing out as well. It was almost completely dark outside and she could barely see anything as Cas put his finger at her forehead, but suddenly a rush of heat spread through her shivering body and she at once felt better, still the sleepiness didn't go away. Elena put her head on Dean's shoulder. Her legs was about to give out, but suddenly Dean picked her up in his arms again.

"Yeah, you can sleep now." He murmured and Elena sighed as she felt her body became completely numb and her mind shut down.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Elena was woken up by the sun shining in her face and her alarm clock going off. With a sleepy move, she shut of her clock and turned in her bed before she tried to go back to sleep. While propping one of the pillows in her bed under her head, she suddenly remembered what happened the night before, and in a quick movement, she sat up in the bed. Her eyes opened in disbelief as she put her hand on where the wound was supposed to be, but to Elena's great surprise, she couldn't feel anything. She pulled away the covers and found out she was still in the clothes from the night before, jeans and her dark red singlet. After getting out of the bed, feeling completely fine, she wondered if it was all a dream until she walked over to the mirror above her dresser. She examined her neck, looking for any marks, but it was just her bare skin like nothing had happened. Everything looked fine until she looked at the strap of her singlet. Blood, she thought and looked in the mirror again. Suddenly, someone knocked on her open bedroom door.

"Hey. I don't know if you remember, but I'm…" He couldn't finish before Elena tilted her head and pulled a hand through her hair.

"Sam, right?" She said and put her hands in her back pocket of her jeans. Sam nodded and smiled before he stepped in to her room, holding a cup out for her.

"Here." He said as Elena took it and looked in to the cup. "It's just coffee. We thought maybe you'd like some since…what happened yesterday. Coffee usually helps." Elena sipped it and sat down on the bench beside her window before she looked up on Sam.

"So it wasn't a dream?" Elena asked and tapped nervously on her cup as she put her leg over the other. Sam shook his head before he sat down on her bed in front of her. "It all happened?"

"All the animal attacks are actually vampire attacks. My brother Dean and I are hunters. We hunt these things, and more." Sam said and leaned on his legs. Elena sipped her coffee before she put it down beside her.

"You're hunters?" Elena asked as her eyes widened in fascination. Sam nodded with a surprised look. "My brother's a hunter, like most of my family before him."

"You're hunters too?" Sam asked, but Elena shook her head and looked down in her coffee.

"Well, I'm not. You can say I was in too deep to start, but Jeremy is. I doubt you're the same kind of hunter as him though. He's a vampire hunter with this mark and stuff. It's difficult to explain, he can tell you about it." Elena said and smiled sheepishly when she started to blab. "So I actually threw up in your car?" Elena asked and buried her face in her hands for a moment before she looked up at Sam who smiled to her and chuckled.

"Yeah, Dean's outside, cleaning." Sam said and sat up straight. Elena gave him an idiotic smile and tilted her head a little.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" She asked and stood up. Sam jolted up from the bed as well, looking a little awkward and nodded.

"Yeah, sure, we'll be downstairs." He said and walked out her bedroom door before he closed it behind his back. Elena smiled to herself before she went to her wardrobe and pulled out a fresh pair of towels and her soft blue robe. She walked through the bathroom door from her room and placed her things on the counter beside the sink before she looked in the mirror as she brushed her straight brown hair. That's when she suddenly remembered her brother and put the brush down before she unlocked the door from the bathroom that led to his room. To her great relief, he was sound asleep in his bed, snoring lightly. She locked the door again and undressed herself before getting in to the shower. The hot water felt refreshing on Elena's skin and she really needed something to clear her mind. The sun shined through the little window beside her head, but she could see dark clouds roll in over town. After getting out of the shower, drying herself, getting a new pair of clothes and setting her hair up in a very messy bun, she finally went downstairs. She tugged down her blue sweater that almost stuck to her skin over her jeans as she walked down the stairs in her Converse shoes before she walked into the kitchen, but no one was there.

"Sam?" Elena called out, but no answer. "Dean?" She walked through the living room, but there was no one there either. She walked to the other part of the living room that faced the street and that's when she saw them. Elena walked out the front door and on to the porch. The air was chillier than the night before and the wind was a little stronger, but not so much that it bothered her. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear before she walked down the steps down from the porch and walked to the guys. Dean wore a black t-shirt and jeans and Sam wore exactly the same only that he had a flannel shirt over and his t-shirt was grey. They both had sponges in their hands and were in full start of soaping in their car.

"Hey." Elena said and put her arms around herself as she eyed the boys while they worked. They stopped and looked at her as she came closer.

"Hey, you feel okay?" Dean asked and put the sponge down on the hood of the car as Sam walked from the opposite side towards her. Elena smiled apologizing to Dean and looked down at the ground.

"Yeah, sorry about the car." She said and glanced up at him. He shrugged and looked over his shoulder at the black car as Sam came up beside him with his dripping wet sponge in hand.

"It's okay." Dean said and smiled to her. "I should have cleaned her long ago anyways." He picked up the sponge and handed it to Elena who slowly took it. It was completely wet and the water ran down her hand as she held it.

"Her?" Elena asked as Dean went to the bucket that stood beside the trunk of the car and stuck his hand in it before he pulled another sponge out. Sam smiled to Elena before he started to clean the car again with Dean. Slowly, Elena walked to the trunk of the car and started to scrub the surface.

"This is Dean's baby. It's his most precious thing in the world." Sam said as he scrubbed one of the windows beside Elena. Dean stood on the opposite side of the Elena and washed the trunk as well. "It's crazy."

"Don't listen to him, Baby." Dean said and patted the car with his free hand. "He doesn't understand us." Elena looked surprised and confused, but continued to scrub with the soapy sponge. "So, you're hunters?" Elena nodded carefully before she shrugged, not quite sure.

"Our father was a scientist who studied vampires along with many crazy people, but my brother is a hunter. He's a part of something called The Brotherhood of the Five. They were originally set to kill the first immortal in the world, Silas, by following a map that was tattooed on their arm. To kill Silas, they had to find the cure for immortality, or the vampire cure. Unfortunately, one of the first original vampires, Klaus, killed The Brotherhood before they could kill Silas, but the Hunter's Curse remained for future hunters. But anyway, Jeremy's a hunter and Silas was killed." Elena said, the whole time focused on the sponge, but when she looked up, the guys just looked at her.

"How do you know all this?" Sam asked and stared at her. Elena bit her lip and put down the sponge.

"I…we sort of…lived it, I guess." Elena said and cleared her throat. "I'll tell you everything later, but if you're going to wash your car before it starts to rain, I think you should begin now." She glanced at Dean before she put the sponge down in the bucket and walked to the porch again. When she came inside, the heat embraced her like a hug and she walked upstairs to her brother's room. "Jeremy? You awake?" She knocked on her brother's door before she opened it.

"Yeah, I guess." Jeremy mumbled from his bed. He sat up half-way and pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. Elena sat down in the bed beside him and pulled his head in to her lap. "What the hell happened last night?"

"You were drunk, again, so I took you home, but there were…complications on the way." Elena said while stroking Jeremy's hair. He yawned and stretched his legs.

"What complications?" He asked and sat up slowly from her lap. Elena didn't really want to tell him what happened because she knew he would want to go out hunting them, but she couldn't lie to him either.

"Vampires are back in town." Elena said and looked at her brother as his face suddenly became more awake and aware. "One attacked me last night, but I'm fine. There are other hunters here to help us get rid of them."

"Other hunters? Like me?" Jeremy looked confused as he got out of the bed and walked over to his desk with heavy steps. He grabbed a glass of water that stood on it and downed everything in one chug.

"Not exactly. I don't know." Elena said and got out of the bed as well before she followed her brother down the stairs and into the kitchen. She leaned on the kitchen island as Jeremy opened one of the cabinets. "They are some kind of hunters, but I don't think they're in The Five though.

"Elena, if vampires have come back to Mystic Falls, we have to move again." Jeremy said and looked worried over at his sister who bit her lip.

"That won't be necessary." Dean said as he and Sam entered the kitchen. Jeremy put his hands over his ears after he put the mug he just took from one of the cabinets down on the counter beside the coffee maker.

"Do you have to talk so loud?" He said and sighed as he poured some coffee into the mug. Dean sat down on one of the two stools by the kitchen island and made a megaphone with his hands in front of his mouth.

"I'm sorry! Am I too loud?" Dean yelled out loud and Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut as he put his free hand over his ear while he looked at Elena.

"Who the hell are you even?" Jeremy yelled back and slammed the mug down at the counter so coffee spilled. Elena put a hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down, but he shrugged it off. "No, Elena! If they are here to help than that's what they should be doing. Not hang around our house." He stumped out of the room and out in the hallway. "Where's the Advil?"

"Top left drawer in the bathroom!" Elena called back as he walked up the stairs and slammed a door closed. She sighed and drew a hand over her face before she hurried to grab some paper towels and started to dry the spilt coffee. "I'm sorry. It's been a hard year for us both."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased him." Dean said as Sam suddenly walked out in the hallway. Both Elena and Dean looked after him as he walked out, but Elena continued to dry away the coffee. When Sam came in again, Elena was about to throw the paper towels as he handed her something.

"You forgot it at the diner." Sam said and Elena quickly grabbed it. It was her phone.

"Thank you." Elena said and gave Sam a grateful smile as she put it in her back pocket. "I thought I'd lost." Sam nodded and sat down beside his brother as Elena took the cup and emptied the coffee into the sink. "You guys remind me of someone I knew a long time ago."

"Really? Where they brothers, incredibly handsome and has saved the world a couple of times?" Dean asked with a smug smirk on his face, but Elena moved her head in –something like that-move.

"They were brothers, incredibly handsome and have saved me and my friends more times than I can count." Elena said and leaned against her back against the counter while looking at the brothers. "They were vampires."

"You had vampires as friends?" Sam asked in disbelief. Elena nodded and looked down on her hands.

"Boyfriends actually, both of them." Elena said and suddenly got a painful look on her face. "First Stefan, the youngest. Kind, warm-hearted and romantic, but then it was his older brother Damon. He was a sarcastic jerk, but he was so sweet and funny towards me."

"Where are they now?" Sam asked, but Elena shrugged and suddenly Jeremy appeared in the kitchen again. He walked straight to Elena and kissed her temple before turning to the guys.

"Okay, so who the hell are you?" Jeremy asked and crossed his arms while eyeing them, especially Dean. The brothers exchanged a look before they talked and Dean tilted his head back and forth before he leaned a little closer.

"We're Sam and Dean Winchester. We hunt everything from ghosts to demons and everything in-between. We stopped the apocalypse, died a couple of times each, hung out with the King of Hell, we have an angel sidekick named Cas, short for Castiel, and we've literally been to hell and back. Questions?" Dean said with a very satisfied look on his face. Sam nodded and leaned on his arms as Elena and Jeremy shared a look.

"Yes, but we'll take that later." Jeremy said and looked back at Dean. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Now it's your turn." Sam said and Elena sighed. "We need to know if we can trust you."

"We grew up in this town, people we love have died because of vampires, we've dealt with the original vampires, both of us have technically died, me especially, one of our friends was turned in to a vampire, one in to a werewolf, one was witch, Elena dated vampires, I'm Brotherhood of the Five hunter, saved the town a couple of times, our kind of adoptive father's almost wife was killed by a crazy witch while carrying his twins right before they said yes to each other, we dealt with the first immortals and we have to move whenever vampires are near us. Questions?" Jeremy said in a rush and Elena turned away from them before she leaned over the sink, taking deep breaths.

"Elena?" Sam asked, but she just waved a dismissive hand while she took deep breaths. Jeremy placed a hand on her back to calm her down.

"Why do you have to move around?" Dean asked as he leaned back in the stool, crossing his arms. Jeremy glanced over at him for a second before he looked at Elena who nodded.

"I get dangerous each time I kill. I lose control, it's happened before." Jeremy admitted and Elena turned around to hug him.

"It's going to be okay. We will get through it." Elena said and leaned her head against his shoulder. "We always do."

"We'll take the vampires down. Any idea where they might be?" Dean asked and stood up along with Sam. Jeremy shook his head, but Elena wrinkled her forehead and let go of her brother.

"You're taking on vampires by your own?" Elena asked and took a couple of steps towards them.

"We always have." Dean said and winked at Sam before he pushed him in the arm as he walked past him. Sam looked after him as he walked in to the hallway and out the front door.

"We'll be fine." Sam said and gave Elena a comforting smile before he followed his brother. Elena glanced back at Jeremy before she followed Sam and grabbed his shoulder.

"I'm coming with you." She said and looked up at Sam who immediately shook his head. "Sam…"

"Elena, we have hunted these things for ages. We know what we're doing." Sam said and turned around again, but Elena got in his way again and put her hands on his chest to stop.

"Sam, please." She begged and looked intensely into his eyes. "I know this town. Please, just let me do this for my brother, or else I'm going to go out there myself." Sam thought about it for a while before he closed his eyes, just for a second, before he sighed.

"Fine, but you do as we say." He said and Elena nodded before she removed her hands from his chest, but didn't lose eye contact. They just looked at each other for a couple of second until Jeremy came towards them.

"No, if you're going, I'm going." He said and broke the moment between them. Elena put a hand on her brother's shoulder to keep him back.

"No, Jeremy, you're not!" Elena protested, but he grabbed her hands carefully and held them. "You know you can't."

"So I'm just going to sit here and wait for maybe that you'll make it home?" He said with a pained look on his face. "I'm not going to kill anyone, okay? I promise, but I'm not going to let you go out there with them without me." Elena nodded and put a hand on his cheek before they walked out the door together with Sam behind them. Dean was already seated inside the car, but he rolled his eyes as he saw Elena and Jeremy come towards the car as well. Sam got in the passenger seat while Elena scooted in the backseat with Jeremy.

"Please tell me we're dropping them off somewhere?" Dean asked Sam who wiggled his eyebrows one time which made Dean sigh with frustration. "Okay, this is the rules. You do exactly like we say and when we say it, understood?" Both Jeremy and Elena nodded as he started the car.

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 **What do you guys think so far? Please leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After driving around for a couple of hours around town without a trace of any vampire activity, Dean finally pulled up to the Salvatore mansion and a shiver went through Elena as all the memories she had from this place came back. It was abandoned, and so it has been for quite a while now. Dean stopped the car and looked out the car window, which was covered in frost as a mix between the water and the cold, while he whistled in wonder.

"Nice place." He said and opened the car door along with Sam. Elena looked at Jeremy and placed a hand on his shoulder as he was about to open the door. He looked over at her with a tiny smile as a comfort, but Elena really didn't want him to get in any danger.

"I'll be fine, Elena." He said and opened the door. Elena nodded to herself when he was out, but was still so nervous. She opened the car door and walked outside in the cold afternoon air before she slammed it closed again. Dark clouds had taken completely over, making the house look more gloom and lonely. Sam and Dean were in full start looking around in the trunk and the sight was startling.

"Wow." It was all she could say as her brown eyes wandered over all the weapons and boxes. The trunk was overfilled with it and a white pentagram was drawn on the underside of the lid. Elena's hand reached and touched the white spray paint with wonder. Sam glanced over at her as half his mouth pulled up in a smile that was tiny, but a lot of feelings were in it. Dean was also deeply impressed with Elena's admiration of the things in the trunk and gave Sam a smile when they shared a look.

"You should see our bunker." Dean said and picked up a gun, weighed it in his hand before he threw it back in to the pile. Elena smiled to herself and looked down at the weapons again.

"You should see our cabin." She said and looked up with an innocent face as she bit her lip. Dean looked surprised at her, but didn't say anything and continued to look through the weapons. Jeremy walked up beside Dean and looked in the trunk with wide eyes. He was about to grab something, but Dean smacked his hand away with hard gesture. Jeremy's hand shot back with surprise while Dean looked at him with a stern look.

"Hey!" Jeremy said out loud, but Dean ignored him and stuck out a hand so Jeremy couldn't reach in to the trunk.

"You ain't killing." Dean said as Jeremy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms with irritation. "And you are sure as hell not coming near any vampires."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" He asked with a very angry voice that was a little higher pitched than his usual voice. Dean gave him a very sarcastic smile and looked back in the trunk.

"Stay in the car." He said simply and shrugged. "Go home, anywhere where there are not vampires to kill."

"Oh, so I'm just going to leave while you take my sister in danger just to show your muscles? Yeah, like hell I'm doing that." Jeremy said and looked begging over at Elena who walked to him. "Elena, please, I can help."

"I know you can, but it's not worth risking you in the processes." Elena said and put her hands on his arms. He was taller than her, so whenever she was standing so close, he had to look down at her which usually everyone had to.

"Yeah, for all we know this place can be empty like the last 16 places we checked out." Sam said and looked over at them as he was loading a small gun. Jeremy looked begging at Elena one last time, but she just shook her head before he groaned and got in the car with a bang. Elena sighed and looked down at the ground with guilt flowing over her as she rubbed her hands together for warmth. Her hands were freezing as the rest of her body was since all she was wearing was a thin sweater over her jeans because she, of course, forgot to bring a jacket.

"Take this." Sam said behind her and she quickly turned around just to see him holding out the little gun he loaded earlier to her. It was silver and a little bigger than her hand, but when she took it, after a little hesitation, it fit perfectly in her hand. Cold to the touch, but it was like it was meant for her. "It won't kill a vampire, but it's loaded with rocksalt so it will at least slow them down."

Dean closed the trunk as he put another gun into the waistband of his jeans. "Stay behind us and don't go anywhere without us." He said with a strict tone in his voice and nodded to Elena who gripped the gun in her hand harder. Sam gave her a reassuring smile that made Elena feel a little better as they moved to the huge wooden front door of the house. Dean tried the door handle, but the door didn't open an inch. "Any other ways inside?" He looked over at Elena before he took a couple of steps back and looked eyed the mansion, but Elena walked over to one of the plants in front of the door and stuck her hand in to the pot before she triumphantly pulled out a spare key to the house. She stuck the little key inside before the lock opened with a little click and the door opened with a creak. Elena was about to walk inside, but Sam put an arm in front of her as a signal that he should go first, so she took a step back as he walked in followed by Dean before she walked in to the big hallway. Elena looked at the place she knew so well, but had now become unfamiliar and cold than the last time she's been here. The furniture in the big living room was covered in white sheets as well as paintings and mirrors. The air wasn't as tight as is should have been though and it wasn't any dust that Elena could see either. Sam and Dean shared a signal before Dean walked towards the kitchen with his gun held up high and Sam nodded for Elena to follow him. With silent steps they walked through the entire left side of the ground floor of the mansion, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary until they walked up the narrow stairs to the second floor and into one of the bedrooms. Elena put down her gun and fastened it in the waistband of her jeans like she saw Dean do before she carefully walked over to the dresser that was in between two bookshelves. Sam followed her and looked over her shoulder to see what she had picked up.

"This is…was Stefan's room when he still lived here." Elena said and caressed the framed picture in her hands. It was a picture taken by Bonnie of her with Stefan holding around her. They were both smiling to the camera and seemed happy. "This was taken before all the drama started and all I had to worry about was the fact that he was a vampire." Elena put it carefully down to its original spot before she turned around and looked around the room. Sam gave her a tiny smile before he tilted his head and walked towards the couch.

"How long is it since he's been here?" Sam asked as he kneeled in front of the leather couch and examined the floor. Elena shrugged and looked at the books in one of the bookshelves, her finger rolling over them.

"I don't know, a year or so, maybe." Elena said and turned to Sam again. "Why?" He looked over at her with something that looked like red paint on his fingers, but knowing what was out there, Elena doubted it was paint. She made a face of disgust and swallowed hard.

"They've been here in the last 24 hours at least. We have to tell Dean." Sam said and stood up as he dried the blood onto his pants before he gestured for them to go out of the room. Elena followed him down to the ground floor again and almost ran into Dean at the last steps of the stairs.

"Woah, easy there, tiger!" Dean said and grabbed her before she fell onto him. She blushed, but luckily he looked at Sam in that moment. "Found anything?"

"Fresh blood in one of the bedrooms. You?" Sam said and looked as Dean signaled for them to follow him, but as they walked through the hallway, Elena had the feeling that someone was staring at her. The piercing of eyes in the back of her head was almost unbearable, but she didn't dare to turn around, so she walked a little faster to catch up to Sam who walked in front of her.

"It's literally a bloodbath." Dean said and opened up the door to the only bathroom on the ground floor that was beside the library. Sam walked in, but quickly backed out with real disgust on his face. Elena took one step into the bathroom and she wanted to puke all the contents in her stomach, but she didn't have anything to throw up. The bathtub was filled to the brim with blood and a severed hand lay next to it. Elena closed her eyes and grabbed a hold of Sam before she hid her face in to his chest, not wanting to look at it anymore. Sam's arms went around her, holding her tightly against himself with one strong hand on her back on one on the back of her head. His smell was soothing in some way to Elena, like honey and peppermint mixed together in perfect harmony, and she tried to focus on that. Her arms held around his flannel dressed waist and held on to the fabric that felt soft between her fingers.

"Is there someone in it?" Sam asked and Elena could literally hear the disgust and sickening in his voice. That made Elena cringe, just the thought of a body being in there.

"No, not that I could find." Dean said and crossed his arms as Elena peeked out from where she was hiding behind Sam's arms. "I stuck a broom that I found in the kitchen in it, but it seems to just be blood, and a lot of it."

"So they've been here, but they've just left?" Elena asked and stood up straight again, trying to get her mind of the bloodbath. Sam let go of her as Dean shrugged and started walking towards the library again. After exchanging a look, they followed him, but immediately regretted it when they saw who, or rather what, was standing in front of them. 5 vampires stood various places around the room, and one of them held Jeremy against the floor. Elena gasped when she saw her brother, but Sam's hand quickly grabbed hers and Dean had frozen in place with his gun pointed to one of the vampires that was closest to them. Sam pulled Elena behind him and quickly found his guns.

"Let the boy go!" Sam roared and pointed the gun at the vampire, a woman, who held him down, but she only smiled towards him before her fangs flew out. She pulled Jeremy's head to the side by his hair before she bent down to his now exposed neck.

"No!" Elena said as Sam shot the vampire in the head. She fell off Jeremy and onto the floor, but at time Jeremy used to scramble to his legs, another vampire grabbed him. The vampire in front of Dean ran at him, but was immediately shot between the eyes and staggered back. Elena pulled out her gun as the three other vampires ran at them and shot one in the chest. Jeremy was pushed to the ground again by another vampire lady who slowly crabbed over him with her fangs out, sharp as knives.

"If you taste as good as that girl over there, than I'm going to drain you quick." She hissed and licked her red lips before she pulled his head to the side. Carefully, she licked the bare skin of his neck as Jeremy grabbed a vase that was placed on a table by the couch beside them and smashed it at her head, shards of glass landed all over the floor. In a fast movement, Jeremy was on top of her, holding her hands pinned to the floor. She laughed and pouted sarcastically. "Oh dear, did I hit a nerve?" Jeremy grabbed a glass shard from the floor and held it against her throat.

"Jeremy! No!" Elena called out when suddenly another vampire appeared behind him and pulled him off the woman. Jeremy struggled to get loose, but somehow he managed to turn and slit the vampire's throat with the glass shard that had also cut into the skin on his hand. Dean was fighting one of the vampires on the floor, trying to get it off of him, as Sam hurried over and cut its head off with one of the swords that hung on the wall. The remaining body of the vampire fell to the floor and Dean got up just as two other vampires attacked them. Elena proceeded to grab the other sword that hung on the wall which was very heavy and cold in her hand, but she managed to hold it. Slowly, she walked to the vampire lady that Jeremy had almost cut the throat of, but the woman turned around in an inhuman speed and knocked Elena to the ground. She pushed the blade away with her shoe and kneeled down to Elena who tried to scramble away, but the woman grabbed her by the hair, keeping her in place.

"You tasted so good." She mumbled and caressed her cheek, but Elena turned her head around so her hand missed her face. "Maybe I'll keep you as a bloodbag." A vicious smile spread across the lady's face, revealing her fangs as she dived for Elena's throat. Elena shut her eyes, waiting for the sting, but nothing happened. The grip the vampire had around her hair loosened and Elena opened her eyes just in time to see the headless body fall down to the floor. Elena looked up to her savior expecting it to be Dean or Sam, but no.

"Jeremy." Elena whispered in horror and caution as her brother's eyes locked themselves in hers. His eyes were filled with something unknown and unfamiliar that Elena had seen before and she had dreaded the day she had to see it again. Sam and Dean had sliced the heads of the two vampires that attacked them, and now everyone was dead quiet, afraid to move, but all of a sudden the silence was broken by the last vampire fleeing in a speed faster than Elena's eye could follow. Jeremy took the remaining steps to his sister and kneeled down to her like the vampire had done. Elena was leaning on her arms on the ground with her eyes fixed on Jeremy. It was like all feeling and emotion had been drained out of him, like everything that made him Jeremy was gone. "Jeremy…" Elena couldn't finish before Jeremy's hand flew to her throat, squeezing it.

"Jeremy!" Sam and Dean yelled as they ran towards them. Elena tried to get loose of his grip, but he was stronger than her. She could feel the air go out of her as the tears stung the back of her eyes. No remorse, no guilt nor regret where to be found in Jeremy's face at all. Sam and Dean grabbed him by the arms and hauled him back, away from Elena. Jeremy fought back and tried to get loose from their grip, but they could barely hold him. Elena gasped for air and coughed as she fell to the floor, trying to get up, but she couldn't.

"Take…him to…the basement." Elena said between her attempts to suck in air. She leaned on one arm and glanced up at the guys. "Beside the kitchen, down the stairs and the first door you see." They grabbed Jeremy with them and walked out of the room, but Elena could still her Jeremy's groaning. Slowly, she got her breath back and sat up straight, trying to calm her racing heart, as she carefully placed a hand where Jeremy's hand had just been around her neck. With a groan that sounded more of a wince, Elena stood up and walked to the empty fireplace to look at herself in the mirror above it. As she pushed her brown thick hair away, she saw red marks around her neck that hurt when she touched them and she knew what she had to do if she didn't want them to swell up. Quickly, she walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer and grabbed the pack of ice-cubes that lay on the bottom. They were freezing in her hands, so she quickly grabbed a towel from one of the drawers and put them inside before she carefully placed them on her neck. She winced again as she sat down on one of the benches beside the big table in the middle of the room as the cold hit the warmth of the marks, but just then, the guys came through the door again into the kitchen.

"Hey, Elena, you okay?" Sam asked and hurried over to her before he kneeled beside her. She nodded and did her best to cover the marks Jeremy had given her, not wanting to show them, but then Dean came over and removed the ice. Their eyes widened as they saw the red handprint in her skin, but she quickly covered it again.

"It's not his fault. It's the instinct the Brotherhood has, to kill vampires." Elena said and leaned her elbow on the table as she continued to press on ice on the mark. She could see the confusion rise between the brothers.

"But you're not a vampire." Dean said with a little gesture with his hand. Sam's forehead wrinkled a little and Elena swallowed hard again.

"I was." She said and looked in to Sam's golden eyes which were filled with surprise and confusion.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you want the next chapter, leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You what?" Dean asked with a surprised look on his face as Sam glanced up at him. Elena put the icepack down on the table as her hand became too cold to hold it before she rubbed her hands together for warmth.

"The cure." Sam said and looked in to her eyes as she glanced at him where he kneeled in front of her. She nodded and put a hand over her marked neck. "You took it."

"After my bestfriend, and Jeremy's girlfriend, Bonnie, killed Silas with the help of the witch that had created the immortality in the first place, the cure was left unused, and Stefan and Damon wanted me to have it since I had only been a vampire for a year. The cure doesn't just cure the immortality, but also sets you to the age you would be. So I took it." Elena said and looked up at Dean who eyed her up and down. "I think his hunter instincts still think I'm a vampire or they recognize me as my doppelgänger, Kathrine."

"Wait, you have a doppelgänger?" Dean asked and his forehead wrinkled as Elena nodded her head.

"I had, or I was hers. Anyway, Silas killed her and she was a vampire. She killed Jeremy." Elena put her head on her hand while massaging her temple. She was tired and hungry, but most of all, she was tired of having this kind of a life. Always danger and new things wanting to kill her or the ones she cared about.

"We can't leave Jeremy here and he's too dangerous for you to take him with you home." Dean said and uncrossed his arms before he stood up straight.

"Elena, do you have a safe place that's far from people? That cabin you mentioned earlier?" Sam asked and looked up at her. Elena nodded and swallowed before Sam stood up in front of her.

"Yeah, we can go there. We've trained there before and the nearest sign of society is a little road shop two miles from it." Elena said and looked up at them. Dean clapped his hands together and looked at Sam.

"Great! Let's grab the kid and leave before the vamp gets back." He said and received a nod from Sam as they walked out of the kitchen with Elena following them, but she didn't go down to the basement with them. No, she went to the wooden dresser in the hallway by the front door before she opened one of the drawers and pulled out a set of keys. After looking through the set for the right key for minutes, she finally found the one she was looking for. A silver key with something like a little black cap on it and an alarm button hanging from the chain rested in her hand before she put it in her pocket. Suddenly, she heard Sam and Dean come up the stairs from the basement and Elena's heart jumped in her chest of nervousness. She leaned against the dresser with her hands clutching the top of its smooth surface as Jeremy came to sight from the basement door. He didn't see her right away, but when he did, he froze in his step. Elena was afraid to move as Sam and Dean came up behind him, but they also froze in their place and Elena was even afraid to breath. All of a sudden, Jeremy took fast steps towards Elena, no emotions in his face at all just like before. The guys grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him out of the house, kicking and screaming, and it hurt Elena more than anything, too watch her brother when he didn't recognize her. She bit her lip as the tears stung at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them free. No, she had to be strong, not just for herself, but for her brother as well. Elena turned around to the golden mirror behind her and just looked at herself. Her straight brown hair parted at the middle so it framed her face with the big brown eyes and small pink lips. The mark around her throat had lost a little of its color, but it was still partly visible above the neckline of her sweater.

"Hey, you ready to leave?" Sam asked as Elena studied herself in the mirror and startled her. Her eyes darted to him and exhaled when she saw it was him. A little humored smile formed on his face as Elena nodded with a very idiotic expression on her face when she pretended that he hadn't scared her.

"I shouldn't be in the same car as Jeremy." Elena said and bit her lip with a guilt rising in her again as Sam just realized that it might be the best idea to have them together.

"Yeah, maybe that's not good idea." Sam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought. "We can drive and get you later if you want or we'll drive you up first." He came with a few other suggestions, but Elena shook her head before she pulled out the key from her pocket and dangled it in front of him. "What's that?"

"Come." She said with a playful smile on her face as she reached out for his hand. He grabbed it without hesitation, which surprised Elena in a very pleasant way, before she dragged him after her in the other direction of the kitchen. They walked through the long hallway, through another little library like room and in through a door that was at the end of a narrow little hallway before Elena let go of Sam's hand and pushed on a light-switch on the wall beside them. The whole room lit up with bright white light and revealed old fashioned cars after cars throughout the whole room. Sam's eyes widened in surprise and walked over to one of the cars with the biggest smile on his face. Elena put her hands on her back and followed after him as he looked at the cars in admiration.

"Wow!" Sam said as he passed the metallic blue car that once belonged to Damon when he was still around. He stopped and touched its hood like it was a baby which made Elena laugh as she walked past him to the passenger seat. He looked very excited and confused as she threw him the keys to the car and she opened the passenger door.

"You coming?" She teased and sat in before she closed the door beside her. Sam quickly got in beside her in the front seat and stuck the key into the ignition. The car started with a roar and Elena hit a button on the dashboard that suddenly made the garage door in front of them roll up. Sam looked over at Elena with a smile as she leaned back in the seat when they drove out of the garage and towards Dean's car. It had started to rain outside and the water poured down on the windows as they pulled up beside Dean who was seated in his own car with Jeremy in the backseat.

"I leave you alone with her for a few minutes and suddenly you've got a new car?" Dean asked with a tiny little smile on his lips after he rolled down the window to talk to his brother. Sam looked over at Elena before he gave Dean a smile, but avoided meeting his eyes before he rolled up the window again. Dean started to laugh inside the car, but Sam drove away.

"What happened to the guys who lived in the house?" Sam asked after a two hours of being stuck together in the car. Dean was driving behind them with Jeremy and it pained Elena to think about her brother. Her feet were on the dashboard of the car as she leaned against her seat and watched the rain pour down the windows. The radio played a sweet tune that filled the silence that had been between them up until now.

"They left." Elena said, still looking out the window and her hands twinning together of boredom. "Stefan is traveling the world with his girlfriend, Caroline, and Damon is somewhere out there as well. I haven't talked to Damon in a long time, but I occasionally get postcards from Caroline though. They don't know about the thing with Jeremy."

"Why haven't you told them?" Sam asked and glanced over at her as he was driving with questioning in his eyes. Elena shrugged and looked down on her hands which were placed in her lap.

"I don't want them to stop living their lives just because of us." Elena said and sighed before she looked straight ahead, out on the wet road. She desperately wanted to call Stefan and Damon so she could ask for help, but she knew she couldn't. "We can get through this. We did once and we will again, but the problem is that Stefan and Damon helped Jeremy last time." Her heart had sunk completely in her chest, not feeling that much hope, but she was not going to give up on her brother.

"Hey." Sam said and moved his right hand from the steering-wheel before he placed it onto Elena's. His eyes were fixed on the road, but she could feel that he wanted to help as his hand squeezed hers lightly. "We are going to do our best to save Jeremy, okay? We won't leave until you've got your life back." Elena felt the tears press on the back of her eyes again, but she blinked hard before they could actually escape.

"Thank you, Sam." She said, almost in a whisper as her voice broke. He gave her a smile, but didn't remove his hand. It lay in her lap, tangled in her own, while he drove and Elena had to admit that she didn't mind it at all. Somehow it felt…right, deep down, she knew. "How about you? Any struggles with your brother?" Sam chuckled and shook his head as he quickly squeezed his eyes shut for a second.

"So many." He said with the most childish grin on his face, but it made Elena smile too. "When we were younger, our dad was always out hunting and we saw him just a few days in a week, maybe even a whole month, so when Dean was 10 and I was 6, he had to cook for me and stuff. He had to have made up a hundred different meals with melted marshmallows on them."

"Ew! Really?" Elena said with a disgusted face, but still smiled to Sam who laughed while nodding. "That…that is…wow!"

"Hey, I was 6! Everything with candy was good!" Sam defended himself and Elena couldn't do anything else but to laugh at him. "Okay, you're turn. Tell me something about yourself."

"Technically, that wasn't about you." Elena said and tried to make a serious face that ended up with a half-smile. Sam rolled his eyes and nodded with a serious face.

"Okay, I have been beaten, possessed, killed, thrown, chased and lost my soul, but first when I sprained my elbow, I finally got a vacation." Sam admitted and Elena started at him in absolute disbelief which made Sam smile that warmed him all up inside.

"Seriously? You've been possessed? I mean…wow." Elena said and looked out the window in front of her again. "Okay, something about me." Elena thought about it for a few seconds before she turned in her seat and looked at Sam. "I've got a few. I can't cook. I can literally burn water." Sam laughed at her and glanced towards her as she

"Yeah, I'm not the best at cooking either. That's why I always make salad." Sam confessed and Elena laughed again. That's how they continued the rest of the 1 hour trip, laughing about each other's childhood and facts about themselves, until they finally pulled the muddy driveway up to the big wooden house that Elena had spent so many summers at when she was a kid, far from any sign of civilization. It was still pouring outside and the dock behind the house was almost completely covered with water as the lake had risen.

"Stay here until we've got Jeremy secured in a room inside." Sam said and squeezed her hand before he let go. Elena felt the warmth that had been around her hand for the past hour suddenly disappeared. "Do you have the key?"

"No, but it's a spare key just under the roof of the shed that's beside the house." Elena said and nodded towards the side of the house that wasn't visible from where they were.

"Okay, you get that and we'll get him inside s soon you've opened up?" Sam suggested and Elena nodded before they both went out of the blue car. Elena hadn't brought a jacket or anything that could cover her, so the rain sunk into her clothes and her brown hair got darker and wet by the water as they stood by the car as Dean came towards them. Neither Sam nor Dean had anything that could stand water either so they were as completely soaked as she was.

"So, we're just gonna lock him up in a room until we can what? Train him like a dog?" Dean asked confused and crossed his arms. Elena had to be honest; she didn't really know either, because this wasn't like last time at all.

"First we have to keep him away from Elena." Sam said as his long hair fell into his eyes and drops of water poured down, so he pulled a hand through his hair, making it look like he had short hair for a second. "Is there a room we can lock from the outside?" His eyes moved over at Elena who was shivering beside them.

"Ehm, yeah, first bedroom up the stairs. First door on your left." Elena explained with a shivering voice. Her body was ice-cold and wet as the water dripped down from her and onto the ground.

"Okay, hurry and get the key." Sam said with a little smile as she nodded and walked towards the little wooden shed beside the house. It was just out of sight, so she couldn't see the others anymore when she reached it. Wood blocks were placed outside the wall that were meant to be used as fireplace wood, but had now been inhabitant by spiders and whatnot. Elena cringed by the thought of spiders so she shook it off and reached up under the roof outside the door, her hand searching for the little hole in the wood where the key lay, but all of a sudden, she was pulled backwards. She didn't have time to react before she lay on the wet grass on her back. At first Elena thought she had slipped, but then she saw someone standing beside her totally emotionless.

"Jer, please." Elena begged as her eyes were steady on her brother. A little change happened in his face, like he suddenly recognized her, but it disappeared as fast as it came. Elena crawled slowly backwards, but Jeremy quickly grabbed her leg and hauled her back. Kicking and struggling, she screamed for Sam and Dean as her brother bent down and grabbed one of the wooden pieces that were stacked beside them. It was sharp at the end like a dagger and Elena remembered it was one of the stakes she and Jeremy had left there in case of emergency. He grabbed her by the throat again and lifted his dirty, wet hand up into the air and looked her in the eyes like he was saying goodbye without words. Elena couldn't breathe or move anymore, too afraid, so she closed her eyes as tears rolled down from them, ready to die, but suddenly, Jeremy's hand was gone and running footsteps came from both sides of her. Quickly she opened her teary eyes and saw Sam and Dean run up beside her.

"Elena! Are you okay?" Sam said and fell to the grass beside her, taking her into his arms which were completely wet from the pouring rain. Dean came on the other side of her and sat down as well before pushed strays of hair out of her wet face with ice cold fingers. She couldn't speak, just held on to Sam for her bare life, tears running freely down her eyes, silently. Sam stroked her hair and held onto her shivering body as Dean looked around.

"Where the hell did Jeremy go?" Dean asked with an angry voice. He was right; Jeremy was gone, disappeared like smoke.

"He ran into the woods when we came, I think." Sam said and carefully gripped Elena's waist before he helped her up so she could stand. She was shivering and she barely had any feeling left in her fingertips because of the cold. "We have to find him, Dean." Dean stood up as well and nodded before he looked up at Elena whose cheeks were red and teeth were clattering together.

"Let's get her inside first." Dean said and Elena nodded gratefully. Dean's hair was dripping with water and so were the rest of him, but none of the brother's seemed cold, not like her. Elena turned around to the shed and reached up in under the roof. After struggling with actually feeling something in her fingers, she finally found the key which she barely managed to hold on to, so she handed it to Dean. Sam put an arm around her as they walked to the entrance of the wooden cabin, trying to get some warmth into her freezing body.

"You need to find Jeremy." Elena said between her teeth clattering and put her arms around herself. Dean looked back at her as he walked to the front door and unlocked it.

"We will, but right now, we have to get you dry and safe. We don't even know where Jeremy is." He said as they finally walked into the cabin which was much warmer than the outside. Dean tossed the key at one of the kitchen counters before he went over to the fireplace, starting to make a fire. Sam closed the door behind them as Elena walked up the stairs to the second floor to her parents' former bedroom. The familiar wooden hallway filled with family pictures and other stuff they had left there made Elena feel at home as she walked into her parents' bedroom. Her mother's perfume smell welcomed her as she walked to the dresser by the big bed and looked through the clothes that were left until she found her mother's cozy grey sweater and a pair of black jeans. With a sound of relief, Elena pulled the hair-tie out from her hair so her now wet hair spilled down around her shivering shoulders. Quickly she got out of the wet clothes and slipped into the new ones with the feeling of warmth and her mother surrounding her, For a minute she just stood there, looking in the mirror, trying to remember her mother the best she could; her smile, laugh, just the simple things, but it was harder now. After shaking of the mesmerizing thoughts, Elena looked in the dresser again and pulled out two of her father's flannel shirts before she headed back down the stairs. Dean had gotten the fire lighted and was standing by the couch talking intensely with Sam as Elena quietly walked down the stairs, but stopped when she heard her name.

"I know you want to help Jeremy, but we have more to do than just babysit!" Dean said with frustration his voice and eyed Sam as he nodded and squeezed his eyes shut for a minute. "The vamp that escaped is much more dangerous than some kid."

"Not to Elena." Sam said and put his hands up in a quick movement. "Jeremy would try to kill her the second he got a hold of her, Dean. If we go after the vamp, what will stop him to go after Elena?" Elena swallowed hard and clutched her fingers around the shirts in her hand. They were silent for a little while, the tension rising and Elena was about to go down the remaining steps of the stairs, but then Dean started to talk again.

"You care about her." He said, not like a question, but like a confirmation. He crossed his arms as Sam looked away, not replying. Elena's heart fluttered and she held her breath, scared to move. "Sam, you know..."

"Yes, Dean! I know! It's too dangerous!" Sam snapped and closed his eyes before he running his fingers through his long hair with a sigh. He turned away from Dean who nodded slowly. "I know that there can never be anything between us, but I…I can't help it. She is… I can't even explain it." He let out a frustrated and pathetic laugh before he turned back around to his brother. Dean looked down at the floor with a tiny smile on his lips as Elena walked down the remaining steps, pretending she didn't hear anything, but inside, a strange feeling had awoken.

"Hey, I've brought you some dry shirts." Elena said with her eyes on the clothing in her hands. "I don't know if they'll fit, but I guess it's better than being dripping wet." Sam turned around as she walked towards them with a look of surprise when she looked up at him with a shy smile while she handed him one of the shirts. He slowly took it without taking his eyes from hers. Elena felt her cheeks turning red so she quickly looked away and handed Dean the other shirt.

"Thank you." Dean said when Sam remained silent. Dean pulled off his t-shirt so he was bare chested and Elena groaned before she quickly turned around, her back turned to them.

"Mind giving me a heads up next time?" Elena said as she crossed her arms and could literally feel Dean's smirk on her back. She shook her head and looked down at the floor, waiting until they were dressed.

"Afraid you will find me even more attracting?" Dean teased and Elena rolled her eyes, didn't bother to answer. "Okay, you can turn around now." Elena turned around, but quickly sucked in air when she saw Sam stand there half-naked with his chest bare. He didn't seem to understand what happened before Dean started to chuckle. Sam had just placed his wet clothes over the back of the leather couch and was holding the red flannel shirt in his hands as his eye landed on Elena who looked mesmerized at him.

"Dude!" Sam said and looked over at Dean who put his hands up in defeat. He winked at Sam before he walked backwards towards the front door. Sam glared at him the whole way, but he didn't feel angry or mad at all.

"I'll be in the car." And with a vicious smile too his brother, he disappeared out the door in the blue flannel shirt. Sam looked back at Elena who eyed Sam with big eyes and her jaw had dropped a tiny bit. Sam looked at her with a curious look and a smile before her eyes met his and she quickly shook her head before she looked away.

"I'm sorry." Elena sighed and cleared her throat. Sam smiled to her as he pulled on the flannel shirt, a little amused with Elena's reaction, but his heart also jumped in his chest when he saw the shy little smile form on her lips.

"It's okay." He reassured and started to button up the shirt. Elena looked at him as he did it, studying him like he was something completely alien. He glanced up at her with, still with a smile on his face and this time Elena smiled back. "We'll be back later." Elena nodded as she tilted her head when Sam opened and closed his mouth, like he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind. He nodded and walked towards the front door, leaving Elena alone in the cabin.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sam had a very good feeling inside him as he walked out the door of the cabin, but he also had a guilty feeling for leaving Elena. Dean sat in the car with one of his rock songs on, but when Sam got in the Impala, he turned it down with a smirk and started the car.

"Gonna thank me yet?" Dean asked with his eyes at the stone road in front of him. Sam looked in the rear view mirror as they left the wooden cabin and the woman inside behind.

"For what?" He asked, not completely paying attention on what his brother said. Dean glanced over at him, seeing that he was staring in the rear view mirror as they left the cabin. He nudged Sam in the arm and shook his head as Sam cleared his throat before he looked at him.

"You're head over heels for this girl." Dean chuckled when Sam blushed slightly and glanced up in the mirror again, but the house had disappeared behind the trees and Sam's heart became slightly heavier.

"Why should I thank you?" Sam asked again and leaned back in the seat, trying to stop thinking about Elena, which didn't exactly work. Dean shrugged and glanced at his brother again.

"Maybe because now Elena knows how you feel about her…or something like that." Dean said with a smirk and Sam looked confused at him before he gradually understood what he meant.

"You knew she was listening?" Sam said in pure surprise before he became nervous and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think clearly. "I can't believe this."

"You better believe it. She heard every word of it." Dean said and chuckled again. "She was sneaky, I'll give her that." Sam wasn't angry at all with his brother, not at all, he was rather embarrassed. What did Elena think about him now? "I think she likes you."

"Dude! Did you not hear what I said back there?" Sam said and looked frustrated at him. Dean gave a short nod and a smile.

"I think we both heard what you said." Dean laughed and Sam groaned before he squeezed his eyes shot. "Dude, just ask her out."

"Her brother wants to kill her and a vampire is on the loose, and you want me to ask her out?" Sam asked and opened his eyes, feeling completely drained and tired. Dean shrugged with a serious look on his face.

"Hey, in this line of work, you don't get a lot of chances to relax or have some fun, so take the chance when you get it." Dean said, but Sam didn't reply, just thought about it. Sam had never felt the way he did when he was around Elena, like she understood him and accepted him. He didn't have to hide what he was when he was with her because she had gone through the similar things. She was something of her own.

Elena stood by the window by the door and looked out as the boys drove off in their car. She wanted to come with, but she knew they wouldn't have let her if she'd ask, but she wasn't exactly safe in the cabin either. Quickly, she locked all the entrances into the house before she sat down on the couch with her legs under her while she stared at the fireplace. The flames roamed freely inside and heated the whole place up, but Elena felt very cold as she sat there completely alone and concerned. Her whole body ached with guilt whenever she thought of Jeremy. It was her fault that he had turned back into what they had so desperately tried to avoid. Had she just told him to stay at home, he wouldn't have been like this. When she thought about the brothers, she felt concerned. She wanted to be with them, to make sure they would be okay, but she had to trust that they would. Just the thought of Sam made Elena's heart jump and her stomach knot up. She wouldn't deny that she had feelings for him, but she wasn't sure if she actually had feelings for her. He said to Dean that there could never be anything between them, and she wasn't exactly sure what he meant. After sitting on the couch for a couple of hours, too caught up in her own thoughts, she had to get a stress-relief, so she made her way into her father's little study and unlocked the liquor-cabinet. With a sigh, she looked through the alcohol until she found the bottle she was looking for.

"Bourbon." Elena said as she turned the bottle in her hand and opened the cap of it. The strong smell hit her, but she ignored it as she took a big sip. It burned her throat, but she was used to it, so she walked into the living room again as she continued drinking. It didn't take long before she was completely taken by the alcohol and every thought in her head was erased. Usually, she didn't drown her sorrows, but it had been rough lately and she just wanted a break. "Salute, Rick, wherever you are." Elena looked out the glass doors that led to the balcony on the back of the cabin as she lifted the bottle in the air before chugging more of the liquid.

After driving around for hours, Sam and Dean drove back to the cabin again without finding a trace of the vampire in Mystic Falls. As they pulled up beside the other car in front of the house, they could hear music blasting from inside. The brothers exchanged a look before they stepped out of the car and walked inside the big cabin, and the sight surprised them both. Elena danced barefoot around on the floor with a bottle in her hand, singing along to whatever song was playing. Her jeans where thrown at the floor and her sweater reached to the middle of her thighs.

"Elena!" Dean yelled over the music and Elena stopped dancing as she saw them. Quickly, a big smile appeared on her face and ran towards them before she threw herself at them.

"You're back!" She said as she hugged them. Both of the brothers pushed her carefully of them and looked at her. Sam took the bottle from Elena's slender fingers and looked at it. "It's bourbon. It's so good!" She danced away from them with her hands over her head, so her sweater was pulled up and showed her underwear. Dean smirked and looked at Sam who looked concerned back at him, but he rolled his eyes and pulled the bottle from him before he took a chug from it as well. Elena laughed and danced to the music that blasted from some speakers in the corner of the room. Sam put the bottle down on the kitchen counter and watched as his brother sat down on the couch, watching Elena dance.

"Come on, Sammy." Elena said and walked towards Sam with big pleading eyes. She placed her hands on his chest and pulled him closer to her. "Dance with me." It was almost a whisper, but he heard it. Dean eyes them with a smirk before he lay down on the couch. Sam knew he was just as tired as himself, but now they had to get Elena to bed as well. Sam's hands went to Elena's hands and grabbed them, holding them softly.

"Elena, you need to go to bed." Sam said and looked her in the eyes. She pouted and got her hands out of his grip, but he grabbed her around the waist. Her back smashed into his chest and his arms were around her. Elena didn't move, she was too surprised, like Sam. He didn't know what to do either, but slowly, Elena turned around in his arms, facing him again. She looked up at him and put her arms around his shoulders before pulling him slowly down to her. Sam's heart pounded as their faces were inches away from each other. He could feel Elena's breath and her eyes closed as his did, but suddenly Dean yelled out loud.

"Can someone turn down the damn music?" He groaned from where he lay on the couch. Elena sighed before she went out of Sam's arms and got her phone. A second later the music was gone and Dean made a satisfied sound. "Thanks!" Elena bit her lip and grabbed Sam's hand before she pulled him after her up the stairs. Her hand was tiny in his, but somehow fit perfectly. After Elena had pulled him in to one of the bedrooms, she closed the door behind them and lay down on the bed and signaled for Sam to do the same. Slowly, he walked towards the bed and got in beside her before he lay down beside her. She placed her head on his chest and on hand across his waist as his left arm held around her.

"I'm tired, Sam." Elena mumbled with sigh. Sam nodded and kissed the top of her head.

"Just close your eyes and sleep." Sam said and closed his own eyes. He was so tired and just wanted to sleep, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep until Elena was.

"That's not what I meant." Elena replied and pushed herself up on one hand, looking down at Sam who was barely awake. "I'm tired of this life, Sam. Tired of having to run, to always look out for danger and when I finally though we were safe, it happened. I just want Jeremy to have a normal life and to be happy. I failed him, right from the start, Sam. You don't know how it feels to fail your own brother." Elena was on the verge of crying, so Sam sat up in the bed, with his back against the wall and pulled Elena against him.

"I've failed Dean more times than I can count, but that's the good things about siblings. No matter how much you screw up, they will always forgive you." Sam said and held around Elena who leaned against him. "Jeremy will go back to normal, I promise, Elena."

"I hope so." Elena mumbled and bit her lip before she looked up at Sam. "I'm probably not going to remember any of this in the morning, but I wanted to say that I'm very glad that I met you. You are one of the best things that have happened to me in a very long time." Sam smiled down at her as she put a hand on his cheek and pulled him closer to her. Again, their faces were inches away from each other, but they didn't get interrupted. Their lips fell softly in place with each other, like they belonged together. It was a soft kiss that didn't last very long, but a lot of feelings were exposed in it. With a smile, both Elena and Sam lay down again in the bed; Elena with her head on Sam's chest and a leg over his while his arm was around her. It was like they had done it a thousand times before and it was completely normal as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Elena didn't feel good at all. She woke up in her parents' old bed with a pounding headache and her stomach growled unhappy as she sat up in the bed. She had no memory of what happened after she found the bottle of bourbon, like everything was just a blur. The sun had finally peeked up outside between the trees and birds were singing around the cabin, but the only birds Elena could hear was in her heavy head. She placed her hands over her eyes, taking deep breaths, but her stomach suddenly twisted and she knew she had to run. Quickly, she threw the bedcovers off herself and ran through the door between the bedroom and bathroom before she fell to the floor. Without warning, everything she had in her stomach poured out like a waterfall. Her hair fell in her face even though she tried to get it away, but like every hungover girl knows, it just won't go away.

"Elena?" Sam's voice called from the bedroom. She tried to answer, but she threw up again, drowning her reply. His footsteps came into the bathroom and Elena felt at once a little better when she knew he was there. "Hey, hey, hey!" He said softly and kneeled beside her as she glanced up at him before she again threw up. His hand went to her hair and pulled it away from her probably awful face, but he didn't seem to care. Sam pushed away her hair and rubbed her back the entire time she had her head literally in the toilet. "You'll be okay."

After throwing up for a good five more minutes, Elena's stomach was finally empty and she felt a little better, but her head was still pounding as she washed her face in the cold water of the sink. Sam stood in the doorframe, just looking at her with observing eyes as her eyes met his in the mirror after drowning her face in water. She turned off the faucet and took a soft towel from the towel-holder beside the shower before she dried herself of.

"Thank you, Sam." Elena said and held the towel between her slender hands as she looked shyly towards Sam. He gave her a quick smile and nodded as Elena took a step closer. "Not just for staying with me as I…threw up, but also for helping me with Jeremy. I can't do it alone."

"It's our job." Sam said and Elena nodded as she put down the towel in the laundry basket beside the door. "Do you remember anything from yesterday?"

"Not after you left." Elena admitted and opened the medicine cabinet. She needed something, anything, which could stop the sharp pain in her head. With a sloppy hand, she looked through all the different bottles of pills and whatnot until she found one with Advil written on it. "I remember bits and pieces, but it's blurry." Sam nodded with mixed feelings inside of him. He was grateful that she didn't remember the kiss they had shared, but he still wanted her to remember. Her graceful moves, her plumb lips and beautiful face made Sam's heart flutter every time she looked at him, but he tried to contain his feelings the best he could. Deep down, he knew it was wrong to feel the way he felt. They walked down stairs where Dean were waiting by the door with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe.

"Took your time." He said and winked to Sam who avoided his eyes, but Elena gave him an eye roll before she massaged her hurting temples. "Hangovers do that to you. Believe me." He smirked to Elena who just walked past him to the kitchen counter and sat down on one of the stools. "You ready to roll?"

"Yeah." Sam replied and followed his brother who opened the wooden front door as Elena's eyes flew up.

"Wait! You're leaving?" Elena asked confused and groggy. They looked back at her as she made her way to them. She felt so not good, but she didn't want to be left again. It was too much…guilt for her to deal with that she didn't want to do alone. Sam and Dean exchanged a look.

"We need to find your brother." Dean answered and opened the front door fully before walking out. Elena followed him, but the bright sunshine hurt her hungover eyes and she quickly covered her eyes with her hand with a wince. All of a sudden, Sam's hand was on her waist and as she removed her hand slightly from her face, she found him looking worried at her.

"I'll live, Sam." Elena murmured softly and gave him a smile of reassurance. He nodded, but his hand didn't move and his look didn't change as they walked down the porch to the cars. "If you're looking for Jeremy, then I'm coming with you."

"Like hell you are." Dean responded as he opened the driver seat door of his Impala. "You remember last time you had to come? You almost got killed, so no. You'll stay here to we come back." Elena opened her mouth to protest, but she turned to Sam instead who had his lips in a firm line as Elena tilted her head when she looked up at him.

"Sam, please!" Her voice might have been a tiny bit higher than normal, but Elena knew she had to find her brother. He was her only responsibility and he meant the world to her, they had to know that. "Please, let me come with you."

Sam wanted to say yes, he did, but it was too dangerous. Her eyes looked pleading up to him and his heart broke. "Get in." He mumbled and Elena's face beamed up before she ran to the car. Sam's eyes were locked on the spot the brunette had just stood as Dean stared at him with a death stare.

"You are so weak, dude." Dean growled and got into the Impala with a bang. Sam sighed with his eyes shut before he walked over to the Impala and got in beside his brother. Elena was in the backseat and smiled to him as he glanced back at her and mouthed a thank you. Sam gave a slight nod and looked in front of him, torn between his feelings and actions.


End file.
